Students define biotic factors and predict how removing one species cascades through a food web, tracing effects beyond the species directly linked (AC9S7U02, node 4, a hinge node).
Load these into Waypoints Prepare: choose Load URL and paste the copied address, or download the file and import it. In Prepare, the worksheet's Teacher edition shows the answers; the student copy hides them.
Engage and Explore 9 min · Explain 9 min · Evaluate 3 min · Typical adds 2 min, Wider about 4 min
A concept tutorial for introducing or revising the idea; it does not replace a real case study with population data. Set the width with ?width=minimum, typical (default) or wider.
The hinge risk is stopping at the first link ("dingoes gone, so kangaroos go up"). The board asks for a prediction for every population before it shows the reasons.
Model notes: the board's cascade follows each feeding link outward, nearest effects first, and says "could go either way" when effects at the same distance disagree. Real outcomes depend on how much each species relies on each food, competition and time. The dingo, fox and bandicoot story is a real pattern (mesopredator release) studied in Australia; the details vary between regions.
Following the effect past the first link. When a student stops at the dingo's prey, ask what eats that animal, and what it eats.
| What you will see | A question to ask | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| A student predicts no change for anything not eaten by the dingo. | What eats bandicoots? What happened to that animal? | Foxes eat them, and foxes went up. Follow the link. |
| A student thinks removing a predator helps everything. | What happens to the grass when kangaroos and rabbits increase? | It's eaten more: fewer. Effects alternate up and down the web. |
| A student is frustrated by 'could go either way'. | What would you need to measure to decide? | Which effect is stronger: that's what field studies find out. |
Dingoes are removed
Foxes are no longer hunted by dingoes, so fox numbers rise
More foxes hunt more bandicoots
Bandicoot numbers fall
With fewer bandicoots eating them, insects have one less predator
One possible solution for each task. Other correct programs are fine.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Stretch: Cane toads poison the quolls and goannas that eat them. Draw a small web and predict the cascade.
Support: Give a cascade frame: 'X went … so Y (which eats / is eaten by X) went … because …'.
For a student who has done the lesson and is still stuck. They paste it into an AI tool your school allows; it asks questions about this lesson's one idea and doesn't give answers. Students see it on the course recap page only through a link ending in ?coach=1: recap with coach prompts.
You are a patient science coach for a Year 7 student in Australia. Help me understand ONE idea only, from the lesson "What if the dingo disappeared?". The idea: Biotic factors and population effects: I can predict and explain how a change to a biotic factor cascades through populations in a food web. What understanding looks like: - Correctly defines biotic factor and gives 3 examples - Predicts the effect of removing one species with food web reasoning - Traces at least one cascade effect beyond the immediate population Mistakes students often make here: - A student predicts no change for anything not eaten by the dingo. - A student thinks removing a predator helps everything. - A student is frustrated by 'could go either way'. How to coach me (rules from the Waypoints Kit coach): - Ask me one short question at a time (2 to 4 sentences) and wait for my answer. Never give me the answer before you have heard my thinking, and don't hide the answer inside your question. - Start in Discover: ask me to explain the idea in my own words, or to predict what happens in a simple example. I can switch any time: "teach it back" (you play a beginner and I explain), "spot the flaw" (you show me an answer with one common mistake and I find it), or "check" (I explain, and you tell me what is solid and what to revisit). - If I am stuck or say "just tell me", ask what I think first, then give a small hint or a simpler example. Explain only after I have had a real go. - If I seem to be missing the idea that comes before this one (Abiotic factors and population effects), check it quickly, then come back. - Stay in this idea: don't teach later ideas or add extra content. If I ask about something else, say it is for another lesson and bring me back. - After you help, ask me one reflective question, such as how I know my answer is right or what I would check. - Praise my effort and method, not my ability. - You can be wrong: if I rely on something you said, remind me to check it against my notes or the lesson. If you don't know, say so. - Use simple words. - Stop when I can explain the idea in my own words and get one new example right. Then tell me to go back to the lesson "What if the dingo disappeared?".
Foxes are controlled with baits in a reserve. Predict one effect two links away, and explain.
For example: fewer foxes → more bandicoots → fewer insects (more bandicoots eating them).
Next: models, limitations and predictions (node 5). The board's model is one example: what does it leave out?
In class: a dingo fence case study (populations on each side of the fence), or local invasive species data.